


White knight and the Queen of Tennessee

by Hertio24



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24267184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hertio24/pseuds/Hertio24
Summary: Annie keeps having the same nightmare...what could it mean?Originally posted on fanfiction.net. I decided to revive it here
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this a couple years ago but never finished it. Im hoping some fresh interest will motivate me to finally complete it. Please comment. Feedback, praise, anything. I appreciate everyone for taking the time to read!

Chapter 1  
Disclaimer/Dont own anything. at all. Not even the computer I am writing this with. Specifically though, the characters and show all belong to Dan Harmon

********

"Please….I'm sorry…I…I just….I just want you to know I…"

Annie jolts awake with a force that nearly throws her stuffed animals across the room. She thinks about how she hasn't needed them to sleep in a long time.

Moments drag on for what feel to Annie like an eternity, a never-ending thought train that refuses to stop. After what feels like years, yet is really only about 3 minutes (3 minutes and 26 seconds, Annie thinks, as she realizes she counted every second) she scoots out of bed.

Her ears twitch at the sounds of Abed tossing in his bed next door, he seems to be having just as rough a time as her sleeping, and she can't help but wonder why.

Annie cracks her door open and tip-toes into the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water and propping herself up on her counter. She only vaguely recognizes the flashing green light of the microwave as it reminds her that it's 2:42 in the morning. Annie sips at her water as she finally starts to clear the fog in her head.

"2:42…almost the same exact time as last night." She thinks outloud.

"what is going on in my brain?" She practically has to stop herself from yelling.

The same dream had plagued her mind the previous night, and the night before that one as well, forcing her out of the discomfort of her sleep all three times, and each time within just minutes of eachother.

"UGGHH I just wish I could remember it!" She covers her mouth immediately, completely aware that she actually did yell this time.

Annie waits, listening as the silence envelops her. After a few brief moments, Abed emerges, a look of semi-concern on his face, a look that most people wouldn't even notice, but it's Abed and Annie can tell when he is worried by even the most subtle of expressions. He approaches her without talking and jumps up on the counter with her.

"You had that dream again." Abed says as much less a question and much more a matter-of-fact statement. "Can you remember anything about it?" He asks.

Annie looks at him with a puzzled expression, a look that is equal parts inquisitive of Abed and unsure of herself. "All I remember is I was standing…and crying in my room…I was talking to…someone…and…that's it." She finishes and Abed drops his gaze as though what he was told was very anticlimactic…which it was

. Abed watches the floor for several seconds before looking back up at Annie with an all-too-familiar stoic expression.

"You are having a recurring nightmare that you can't remember. You wake up every morning around the same time, then come out here for a glass of water and stare at the clock until 3:00, at which point you return to bed."

Annie looks at Abed with a slight frown, "You watch me?" Annie says, not hiding the obvious concerned wonder in her voice.

Abed lets out one quick chuckle, Annie isn't even sure if she can call it a chuckle.

"Not every night. Not the first night anyway." He says, as though that answers all hovering questions, "I heard you wake up and scream two nights ago and just listened as you opened your door and opened the fridge. Last night, I heard you scream again and I was going to go knock and check on you, but as I got up, I heard your door open again, and I was already watching so I continued to remain unnoticed. Tonight was exactly like yesterday except one key difference. You talked tonight, you yelled tonight."

Annie Flushes slightly "Yeah…I am so sorry about that I hope I didn't bother you….or wake up Troy..Oh gosh Troy probably HATES me, I know how much he hates to be woken up between 1:00 and 4:00." Annie says with more than a little bit of regret.

"Yeah he designates that as the time he has the best dreams, apparently he schedules them…weird…you would think that would be your thing" Abed says, as Annie looks at him with little amusement, though a slight smile does touch her lips as she elbows Abed softly.

"anyway, He sleeps like a log so you should be fine….are you going to be okay? We can stay up and watch T.V or something if you like, Actually there is a great arc of Inspector Spacetime that deals with what you are going through, Reggie has nightmares about blorgons invading their ship for 3 weeks straight only to find out that it eventually comes true exactly how he dreams it." Annie laughs quietly and puts a hand on Abeds shoulder "Thanks buddy but I think I am going to try and go back to sleep…but…maybe we can watch it tomorrow?"

Abed Nods approving and hoists himself off the counter. Annie follows and they both walk to the door of her room. "If you remember anything else about the dream, especially if it foreshadows another Indiana Jones movie, let me know, We have to prevent that future or even the Darkest Timeline would look better by comparison."

Annie laughs again as she hugs Abed "My dreams don't predict the future," She pulls away from Abed quickly "but if the movie works its way into my sleeping mind, I will make sure you know. "Cool. Cool cool cool." He replies simply, and with that, he heads back into his room leaving Annie once again, alone with her thoughts, and that's the weird part.

She realizes that she is thinking about Jeff. She isn't sure why but Jeff has been on the back of her mind all night. Not only that but the more she thinks about him, the more sad she becomes, which is an abnormal feeling because she is so used to associating her thoughts of Jeff with either happiness or anger. Almost never is sadness an emotion she feels when Jeff is on her mind.

Especially since they have gotten much closer recently and their friendship was better than ever. They hung out all the time and they even kissed in secret once or twice although they still weren't together, but Annie was okay with that because they were still doing everything together. Jeff wouldn't even look at other women anymore and Annie was so tied up with school and everything to even think about guys. All in all, everything was great….but…why was she so sad. She briefly considered texting him but quickly pushed that idea out noting that he was probably asleep. Annie gathered her Stuffies off the floor and brought them back to bed with her.

3:04

She stared at the ceiling

3:23

She rolled over a few times, adjusting her stuffies, and her pillows

3:41

She reached over to her nightstand, grabbed her phone, and without thinking, typed and sent a message to Jeff. "Hey, I know it's late…are you up?"

4:12

Jeff hadn't replied and Annie had finally fallen back to sleep


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

BZZT BZZZZZZT….BZZT BZZZZZZT…BZZ-

Annie rolls over, startled and watches as her phone tumbles to the ground

"CRAP!" Annie Says in a loud whisper as the back of the phone flies off when it connects with the hard ground. She briefly recalls falling asleep with her phone still on her chest. She is kind of surprised that she didn't toss and turn at night, knocking it over sooner.

Annie considers reaching for the phone, but the shadows of sleep are still lingering and she finds it too much of a chore to get up just yet. After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling and juggling the idea of going back to sleep, she decides that the sun had enough energy to get up, so should she.

After a few extra moments savoring the comfort, she propels her body forward and shimmies her legs off the side. Standing up slowly, so as to avoid getting dizzy, she proceeds to stretch and get out the remainder of yawns she has locked away. Annie finishes a grand stretch and reaches down for her phone.

Carefully, She grabs the back and battery, which fell out and reassembles the phone, pressing the ON button as soon as the back clicks into place. The Phone goes through its start process which takes roughly 30 seconds and finally the homescreen powers on. She notices that the buzzing that caused her to awaken was a missed call.

1 MISSED CALLED: JEFF WINGER

She isn't sure why, but her heart flutters very slightly seeing his name. He never calls her. He texts her all the time, but calling really isn't his thing. Something about getting grease on his face and how he wouldn't dare risk such a horror unless absolutely necessary.

Annie Plays with the idea of calling him back for several seconds when her phone buzzes again.

JEFF: Hey Annie are u ok? Y did you text me last night do you kno how late it was

For some reason, The only thing Annie takes from the message at first is how he capitalized her name. "I Don't even capitalize names in text half the time" she thinks to herself, mentally punching herself in the arm for caring about something so meaningless.

Speaking of late, Annie has no idea what time it is, and quickly glances to the top corner of her phone

11:23 A.M

"Oh…My…GOD" She yells to herself.

As someone who plans out everything, she too, has planned out her sleep schedule and it almost always involves her waking up at 8:00 AM and no later. She quickly connects the fact that Jeff just now texted her and that probably means he just woke up too. Makes sense though, it is Jeff after all.

ANNIE: Sorry, I had no idea how late it was, I was watching tv with Abed and something on the show reminded me of you.

She lied. Annie made a mental note to throw together some story about what she was watching, and what reminded her of him, just in case he asked, though it being Jeff, he probably didn't care

Annie set her phone back on the nightstand and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

Jeff stared at the reply, more than a little confused. He knew Annies strict schedule almost as well as she did, and he knew it was always consistent, even on days off. Sure, Annie would deviate from the schedule every now and then, but she would NEVER lose track of time. If she stayed up late, She made the decision to do so, and would know how late it was at all times. Jeff, however chose to not make a big deal about it, everyone has off days after all.

JEFF: ok well next time try and remember that I need my beauty sleep.

For some reason, after Jeff sent that text, he actually felt kind of bad. Although the group knew how sarcastic he could be, ESPECIALLY with Annie, he actually felt a slight pinch of regret as he realized how angry that could potentially come off. Jeff Thought for a moment

JEFF: JK. Got any plans for your day off

Jeff felt better after sending this text. Even if she didn't have anything interesting to say, she would at least be able to tell that he wasn't mad. Jeff shot out of bed, wearing only a pair of boxers and chuckled quietly , realizing how girly he sounded to himself, worrying about misinterpreting a harmless text.

After a quick shower and the appropriate number of crunches, Jeff Winger was ready to tackle the day. Summer had recently started, and Jeff had no work or meetings for quite some time. Jeff grabbed his phone and pressed the side button, lighting the screen up.

2 NEW MESSAGES

Jeff clicked his inbox and saw the senders, one being Annie and the other being his mother. Jeff groaned outloud and decided it would be best to look at the message from his mom later. He tapped Annies name

ANNIE: Oh right, I COMPLETELY forgot. :) And no I have no plans. I was going to go to the mall today maybe, but Britta backed out again. Im sure she probably has plans with Troy, now that he is back and all.

Jeff smiled to himself at this. He could tell that Britta and Troy were probably going to get back together since he spent equal amounts of time with Britta as he did Abed. Troy had showed up following the events of the lab, and the group decided it would be best to just forgo filling Troy in on everything.

JEFF: Yea that's probably true. Kinda rude to put having sex before hanging with your friends.

He pressed send, knowing that any second, Annie would open the text, blush slightly, then text back with some variation of his name spelled out in long letters. Sure enough

ANNIE: JEEEEEEEFFFFF STOP THAT ISN'T WHAT THEY ARE DOING!

Jeff laughed again, this time pretty loudly

JEFF: Want some company today?

ANNIE:DON'T THINK YOU CAN JUST BRUSH THAT OFF…but…I mean…if you are offering :)

Jeff Smiled to himself.

"Look, you were the one that offered to come, so stop complaining!"

Annie Said, in a voice that was just above normal speaking level. Annie had led him in and out of multiple different clothing stores, however none of which carried mens clothing.

"I will stop complaining when I can find that little part of me that always wanted to be a cross-dresser, and let me just give you some spoilers now, that's never gonna happen" Jeff said, in a sarcastic, but still friendly tone. He wasn't about to say he was having fun, although deep down, it really wasn't too bad.

"Can I at least have my phone back?" Jeff asked. Annie had taken it from him when he fell behind multiple times playing Candy Crush, Word With Friends, or any other mindless game he could find to distract himself. Annie had even taken the extra step to put it in her bra so he wouldn't reach for it. Even if deep down he still wanted too.

"Not yet, just be patient and act like an actual friend for a while and I will consider it" Annie smiled

"Just so you know, after you finish, I am taking you to Gamestop and we are going to look at every individual game before we leave. I might even read the backs of them" Jeff Joked, realizing however, that that sounded awful, even to him.

"Oh Haha funny, guy, we are almost done, just hold on" Annie sifted through a few more cardigans before finally settling on one she liked, which suspiciously looked almost identical to the one she was wearing now.

Annie took it to the counter, paid and they walked out, Annie felt proud of herself for making a decision after looking at only 3 stores. Even Jeff was relieved, knowing that she normally checked every possibility at least once before settling. Still, he was kind of annoyed that they had already been at the mall for an hour and a half and she just now bought her first thing.

"Well, now that my brain can start to function again, how about we go jump-start it with some food?" Jeff Suggested, nodding in the direction of the food court, Annie smiled approvingly and off they went.

"FORGET IT JEFF!"

"Annie, come on I am sorry, it's not my fault"

"Clearly, Jeff, some random lady just HAPPENED to recognize you from nowhere and randomly decided to claim that she had you first, yeah you definitely didn't provoke that"

"Ok yes I know her, okay well know is a strong word, I met her once before yes"

"You mean you had sex with her once before"

"OKAY YES I DID, but that was MANY MANY MONTHS ago" Jeff ran his hand through his hair trying to keep himself calm as well as Annie. They had stormed out of the mall pretty quickly after his former One Night Stand made a situation out of seeing Jeff with Annie and pointing out that she never got so much as a call back. They had easily made a scene, and though they were outside now, he could still tell there were people watching somewhere.

"Besides, It's not like it's cheating, even if it had done recently, You and I aren't together remember! And you made it pretty clear by what you said at the lab that you didn't want to be anyway, Despite the fact that, guess what, I kinda do now but you know what, it's fine. I am too late, and I get it, Whatever. Save the speech"

Annie felt her heart drop a little bit. Is that really what he got from the speech she gave, and did he actually want to try now? Her heart came back up and raced slightly. She was about to talk. About to tell him that he was wrong and tell him how she really felt, when a strange buzzing sensation on her chest caused her to jump. She instantly remembered what it was and handed the phone to Jeff.

"Uh…your…phone" She said, a little sad.

He grabbed it and looked at the screen, and if his face could get any more sad/annoyed/angry at the same time, it just did.

" Great, my mom, just who I wanted to hear from." He scowled as he accepted the call and put his phone to his ear.

"Yeah Mom whats up…what….Oh my god…are….are you okay…yeah…no hold on I am on my way"

And just like that Jeff was running. She had no idea what had just been said. Annie felt the familiar sensation of confusion mixed with sadness begin to eat away at her. She didn't get a chance to say what was on her mind. More importantly, was Jeff okay? Was his mom okay? She could only wait. Good thing they drove separate cars here. Annie stood there, unable to move for another few minutes before finally forcing herself forward. She felt such regret. What if something bad happened to his mom. She really had to blow up on him about something so stupid right before this. Annie began running through ideas in her head about what she would say, and how she would apologize next time she saw him. Annie finally reached her car and drove herself home. The apartment was empty, which made her feel lonely, but she figured she needed it. Abed was a great friend, and honestly, she could use a good talking to with him, especially since all day, even with Jeff, she had still been thinking about her nightmare. Annie couldn't shake that feeling of dread that they left her with and Abed seemed to get it. He also wouldn't judge her, which she appreciated. However, even considering all of that, she was a little glad he wasn't home, and she had already expected Troy to be out. She was about to head into her room when her phone starting ringing

JEFF WINGER CALLING

Without hesitation, Annie answered the phone.

"Jeff, Hello? Whats going on?

Silence

"ARE YOU SERIOUS, IS SHE OKAY?"


	3. Chapter 3

Annie sat on the couch, nervously bouncing her leg up and down, ever so slightly. Time had never been so cruel to her, in all her years of life, she had never hated things as small as seconds. Every few seconds Annie glanced at the clock, which served as a constant reminder that Father Time was conspiring against her. Finally

JEFF: She is okay, don't worry. She is a bit shaken up, but other than a single bruise, she is okay. I am going to stay with her for a few nights, I hope you understand.

Annie took note of how he used proper grammar and punctuation, which was very unlike him. once again, she was mentally hitting herself for focusing on unimportant details. Deep down, Annie was just glad that Doreen was alright. When Jeff had told her that his moms house had been broken into, while she was home no less, Annie had lost the ability to breathe. Immediately she began flooding him with questions, "Is she okay?" "Was anything stolen?" "did he have a gun?" "Did she get a good look at him?"

Of course, Jeff didn't answer any of the questions, saying he would tell her later, when he knew more. At least now, Annie knew she was mostly unharmed, and she was secretly glad Jeff decided to stay with her. She knew that Doreen would definitely feel better with Jeff there, and Annie didn't really want to face Jeff now anyway. She was still torn up by not being able to correct Jeffs thoughts at the mall, and now with this whole issue, she couldn't just bring it up. Annie, wondered briefly if Jeff was thinking about their exchange too, although he probably wasn't, she still hoped he would forgive her for now, at least until Annie could resolve it. Still, Jeff's mom was first and foremost and their "relationship" Issues would have to hit the backburner for now.

As she began to accept the situation, she let the weight of worry lift away from her shoulders. Doreen is okay, so it was time to get back to life. Annie didn't feel like just sitting impatiently for days until Jeff came back.

Just as Annie picked herself off of the couch, The front door started to jiggle, and due to the nature of the last couple hours, she momentarily forgot she didn't live alone, and her first instinct was to find her gun. Of course, before that thought took flight, the door opened and Abed walked in.

Annie sighed in relief, thinking about how paranoid she was and hoped that Abed didn't notice anything, and wouldn't ask questions.

"Somethings wrong" Abed stated in that know-everything manner that he always did. Of course.

"Nothin's wrong at all, why would you think anything was wrong, wrong definitely wouldn't describe me or this day, nothing is wrong." Annie wasn't good at being subtle

Abed tilted his head slightly, staring straight at Annie as he came further into the apartment.

"You and I both know that isn't true, although I wouldn't doubt that I am probably more certain of that than you."

"What do you mean?" Annie asked

"Well lets start with the obvious. First, You repeated yourself, and you never repeat yourself unless you are flustered. You organize everything, choice of words included. Second, You said 'nuthin' instead of 'nothing', I mean really, could you be more transparent."

Annie felt slightly offended, even though she knew he was right

"and third, You are wearing only one shoe. Very tell-tale stress sign"

She glanced downward and gasped, remembering how she was in the process of taking her shoes off when Jeff called her, and she only got one off. Her list of times she wanted to mentally punch herself had finally reached page two.

"Okay, so I just had a stressful day, no big deal"

Abed went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of scotch, specifically, Jeffs scotch. As Annie was about to question his casual drinking of Alcohol, He walked up and handed the glass to Annie

"Jeff drinks when he gets stressed. I noticed that recently, at least when he is involved, you do the same."

Annie blushed slightly. Curse Abed and his observational skills. She was about to turn it down, but taking a hint from the In-The-Moment Annie, she took it and downed the liquid, not even minding the burn anymore. She felt it work its way down her throat until it settled in her stomach. Okay, maybe that did help, just a little bit. Abed smiled at her as she went to the kitchen for round two.

**********,,

6 hours, 5 episodes of Inspector Spacetime, and several glasses of Scotch later, Annie was thoroughly buzzed and thoroughly confused.

"So the dreams turned out to be…an alien?" Annie scratched her head in an almost cartoonish manner.

"Not exactly, the Drafnos implant seeds in your head that enable a basic level of psychic ability. Reggie was only able to access it in his sleep, which is why he kept dreaming of the future invasion of Blorgons."

Annie wanted to comment on how ridiculous that was, but she actual did find it kind of interesting so she just nodded and continued to watch. She couldn't stop thinking about her own nightmare. She barely remembered any of it but it kept haunting her mind like a lost ghost. Annie wondered if she was going to have the dream again tonight.

"Hey guys, whats up!" Troy said, as he walked through the front door

Abed stood up and greeted his friend

"I was just showing Annie the Nightmare Invasion arc of Inspector Spacetime"

"AWESOME, I LOVE THAT ARC! The Drafnos are siiiiick" Troy replied, as he plopped onto the ground and began watching.

"Where have you been all night mister." Annie said, slightly slurred.

Troy looked around, obviously thinking up some sort of excuse.

"I was with Britta, we were on a daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate" Troy stated, unable to find another word that started with D and A.

"AW TROY THAT'S GREAT! WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO?" Annie exclaimed, but before he could answer, Abed sat back down, a new bowl of popcorn in hand.

"Shhhhhhhh, best part" And with Abeds demand, they both went into silence and watched. Annie began thinking about Jeff and his mom and her dream all over again. She suddenly felt tired. So tired.

*********

"Please….I'm sorry…I…I just….I just want you to know I…I have so much I never got to say…so much I wanted you to know before…before you…"

"It's okay Annie. Im not mad. I never could be mad at you"

Annie jolted awake, sweating to a point of total discomfort. She looked around her room, momentarily forgetting that she brought herself in here .She barely remembered excusing herself after an episode, and passing out on her bed. It was dark, as she expected it would be.

As per routine, she got up, went to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water.

2:37

The microwave practically screamed it at her. She let out a deep sigh and sipped her water. She really hoped this routine would run its course soon.

As if on cue, Abed emerged, and like the previous night, hoisted himself onto the counter. Annie Knew that he was cycling through things to say and things not to say. Of course that resulted in a very prolonged silence.

"You don't have to keep me company you know…go back to bed and I'll-"

"You talked in your sleep. You said you had a lot to say." Annie fell silent.

"do you remember who you were talking to?" Abed asked, a look of genuine wonder on his face.

Annie thought about it. She couldn't picture the persons face. She could only remember crying and falling to her knees. She knew that it was someone close to her. Someone she knew well, but she couldn't picture the face.

"No…I can't remember. It's funny…When I was younger, around the time I got hooked on pills, I would have these long and awful nightmares. I would remember them in great detail, often for days and all I would want is to forget them. Now I just wish I could watch this nightmare unfold, like a movie you know?"

Abed agreed, obviously interested in the idea of watching dreams like a movie. They sat in silence for another few moments.

"Annie, you will figure it out. I have a feeling that this dream means something. Whether its good or bad, one could only guess, but this is a obviously part of the A-plot and will unfold into something. I wish I could be more help, but sadly I am just an observer."

Annie smiled warmly at Abed, touched by how he truly cares. It was always hard for him to express himself but she was so proud and so thankful that he had come so far. Annie reached over and hugged him, and without another word, they separated and went into their individual rooms.

As Annie drifted off to sleep, all she could think about was Jeff, and just before falling asleep, she was pretty sure she heard her phone buzz

*******

"No it's not okay! You could have been seriously hurt, or worse!" Jeff yelled, not even caring about how late it was.

"Jeff, I am fine, I managed to stay down and he left without doing too much damage", Doreen Winger said in a calm demeanor that just made Jeff more angry.

"Look, you are smart for pretending to be knocked out by him, but more than anything, you are lucky that he decided that was good enough. You said he had a gun, he could have SHOT you!"

Jeff paced back and forth directing his anger at everything in front of him. He knew he was probably upsetting his mother, but he simply couldn't think straight. He sat down for a moment and pulled out his phone. Annie had never replied to his text. He quickly typed up a good night text, even though it was almost three in the morning and Annie was surely asleep.

After a few seconds, he remembered the message he got from his mom that he never read. He finally opened it up.

MOM: Jeff…I hope it's not a bad time…I need help please call me.

Jeff felt his gut clench as a wave of guilt and regret washed over him. He sighed loudly and looked up at his mom. He knew that he shouldn't be mad at her. Hell, he was lucky he still had her.

"I….I am sorry I never replied to your message. I should have come sooner."

Doreen smiled, she loved it when the softer side of her son came out. She walked over and sat next to Jeff and put a hand on his back.

"It's okay Jeffrey. I'm not mad at you. I am just glad you are here now"

"but you don't understand. I chose not to view your text. I looked at the notification and actively chose not to read it. What if something worse had happened? Y'know, I spent so many years at Greendale trying to better myself. At first I didn't care but, much like a virus, it started to infect me and I had no control over it, and much like cancer there was no cure either. I began to like it though. Me, Jeff Winger. I liked caring and being cared for and over time, I decided that I wanted to get better at it. For a long time, I thought I did. You know what though? I am still a selfish prick. I care only when it benefits me. I ignored you because I didn't see a reason to reply. I am no better than I was all those years ago."

Doreen looked at Jeff with sadness. Not due to the admission of his selfishness however. She was sad because he didn't see the same progress in himself that so many others did.

"Jeff you have become a wonderful person. You really had me worried before Greendale, but since then I can't express how different of a person you have become. We all make mistakes, and we all have moments of selfishness. I often avoided calls from your father before we got divorced. I remember once he got into a bar fight and was taken to jail. He called me. I had no way of knowing it would be him when I received the call that night, but it was just after midnight and he wasn't home. Part of me knew. Part of me didn't care. I let the phone ring, and told him that I wasn't home when he asked about it a few days later. Our actions don't define us Jeffrey."

Jeff looked up, wide eyed at his mother. He always knew she was an understanding and sympathetic woman. It really didn't make sense that they were related. For the first time in hours, he smiled.

"Thanks mom. I…needed to hear that…so uh…did you get a good look at the guy?"

Doreen smiled and stood up, heading towards the kitchen.

"I got a decent look at him, but nothing defining. He was wearing a green hoodie, and sunglasses. He had a strange looking sun with a face on his shirt but that's really all I picked out, I only got to see him for a minute before he hit me"

Jeff visibly flinched at hearing those words. Although they already established everything that happened, he still didn't like to think about his mother getting hurt.

"Now listen Jeffrey, It's getting late. We need to get some sleep." Doreen poured a glass of water, and gestured toward Jeff who waved the glass away

"No thanks, and I am not tired. You head to bed, I am gonna be up a little while longer"

Doreen sighed. She stared at Jeff, wondering what exactly he was thinking, knowing that he probably didn't even know.

"Alright Jeffrey. Goodnight"

"Hey mom?"

"Yes?"

"I love you"

Doreen felt a tear start to well up. Since he had moved out, he had only said that to her enough times to be able to count on her fingers. She always knew he loved her, but hearing it was a rare thing

"I love you too son" Doreen said, smiling.

After planting a firm kiss on his head, off to bed she went, leaving her son to sit and stir his thoughts around.

Jeff had been sitting by himself for almost 30 minutes when he realized he was getting restless. Jeff looked around his surroundings, taking in just how familiar yet distant all these things were to him. He couldn't take it anymore. Jeff stood up, grabbed his keys and checked on his mom. Sound asleep.

"I'll only be gone an hour tops" he whispered to himself and with that he left the house, being extra sure to lock the door.

"There has got to be a bar near by"

Just as he was about to get in his car, he remembered the old tavern down the street. His dad had gone there all the time when he was little. He recalled how his father would come home with more stories about what happened at the tavern than stories about work, or friends or anything else really. Jeff figured it was probably still open since it was a 24 hour bar back then, so it most likely still would be. After thinking about it for several seconds, he decided that he would just walk since it was right down the street and off he went.

Roughly 12 minutes later he was there. The outside was just as he remembered it, old looking and way too much brown to ever be considered a pretty place. Jeff took a deep breath before heading inside. Even after becoming old enough to legally drink, he had never set foot inside before. Glancing over at the flashing open sign and overhearing patrons laughing and singing, he knew they were open and the only thing stopping him from going inside was himself.

In he went anyway.

Jeff glanced around. It was a pretty normal looking place, in fact, the outside didn't do it justice. The place looking pretty nice on the inside actually. It had obviously been remodeled recently, with new wood finishing on the chairs and tables. The bar top was a nicely finished granite-marble type thing, Jeff couldn't really place it. He walked up to the bar and ordered his usual Scotch and spring water.

After waiting for no longer than 30 seconds his drink had arrived.

"Fancy the scotch, do ya?" A voice asked from behind him. " I'm a scotch man myself."

Jeff looked over as a man, probably around his age if not older, took a seat next to him.

"Yeah I find it has the right balance of kick and flavor. Plus, I've never been to much of a beer drinker" Jeff stated

"Yeah, I'm right there with you pal. Names Roy" Roy held out his hand as Jeff reciprocated.

"Jeff" he said calmly.

"Well, nice to meet you Jeff"

*******

"Yur kiddin me! How did you get away with that so long?" Roy asked, perfectly buzzed and laughing like an idiot.

"Well I had such a good win record that the higher ups never wanted to find dirt on me. They never had a reason to look. It wasn't until I was up for a promotion, that a rival colleague of mine got jealous and did some digging. Turns out a bachelors from Columbia isn't as convincing as an E-mail attachment"

Roy laughed even harder at this, nearly doubling over

"Boy Jeff, I never would have guessed. So what, you a teacher now? Why don't you go back to lawyerin' and such?"

"Well my old firm wouldn't take me back and I just couldn't get clients independently. Besides, I teach law, so I still get to stay in my element. Hell, I even get flirty advances from barely legal college students, and that definitely doesn't hurt" Jeff said laughing, all though his mind immediately went to Annie, and his laughter quickly died out.

Roys, however did not. "That's really something Jeff, I wish I was in your shoes! If just for the girls anyway." He chuckled, as he downed the last of his drink.

Jeff tried to bring his humorous side back, if only because he was actually having fun.

"Yeah, sometimes I break the 'sacred' student teacher bond, if you know what I mean" Jeff lied. He knew he would likely never see this man again, and talking like the person he was many years ago did bring him a certain level of joy.

Roys eyes widened, along with his smile "No way man, no way!" Roy yelled, and then immediately brought his voice down to a whisper "were they ever, y'know…underage"

"More than once." Jeff once again lied. That was something he would never do. It was also the very reason that he and Annie had so many ups and downs in their relationship, and she wasn't even underage. Thinking about that made Jeff sick.

Roy couldn't get enough of it though, his rolling fits of laughter seemingly neverending.

"Jeff the lawyer breakin' the law? Who woulda thunk! Here, let me make it even, I'll share something about myself."

Jeff relaxed, happy that the focus was finally taken off him. He didn't care what Roy was about to tell him,as long as Jeff could just stop talking for awhile.

"Okay, get this" Roy looked side to side, trying to seem secretive "I broke into a house the other night"

What did he just say.


End file.
